Posts tagged federal court
Op-ed: ‘We win, they lose’ GOP should use Reagan’s approach with unions
May 23, 2025 // In the case of unions, that means fundamentally reforming the current labor model. This doesn’t mean going back to the bad old days, when unions were treated as a criminal conspiracy. But it does mean ending the legal favoritism that allows unions to coerce workers, control businesses and advance their selfish interests at the expense of everyone else. The Republican goal should be to make unions earnestly compete for workers’ support, with neither a monopoly in the workplace nor restrictions on workers’ ability to choose the union that’s best for them. When is the last time Republicans forcefully advanced such a principled vision? Even before the recent backsliding, Republican leaders rarely made the moral case against forced unionization. Sure, they broadly supported policies that would have empowered workers, and most Republicans still do. But with few exceptions, the party tip-toed around the real stakes. If union coercion is wrong, then anyone who loves freedom has a duty to fight it — without apology and without quarter.
Unions, cities, nonprofits sue to block Trump workforce cuts
May 1, 2025 // Musk has tempered his original goal for DOGE to slash $1 trillion from government spending, saying this month it was on track to cut $150 billion this year. The Trump administration has faced more than 200 lawsuits challenging its policies, with a significant number calling the president's directives unconstitutional. The case is American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO et al v Trump et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 25-03698.
New documents show TSA screeners illegally unionized, pro-worker group says
February 11, 2025 // “During the Obama administration, the TSA administrator did an abrupt about-face, and TSA moved ahead with allowing screeners to unionize in violation of the law,” Dave Dorey, an attorney specializing in labor and employment law who represented AFFT, told the Washington Examiner. “Multiple administrators of TSA have stated publicly that TSA screeners are not covered by Title V, which includes significant rights for unionized workers — including the ability to file claims of unfair labor practices with an independent board and ultimately vindicate their rights in federal court. TSA screeners have none of these protections.”
Teamsters Test the Bounds of the NLRB’s Cemex Decision, Seeking to Unionize Amazon Workers Without an Election
November 13, 2024 // Teamsters allege that Amazon’s failure to voluntarily recognize the union or timely file an RM Petition warrants the issuance of a bargaining order requiring Amazon to bargain with the union. Although the procedure employed by Teamsters permits the union to bypass procedural steps in order to quickly gain recognition and begin bargaining, Amazon’s willingness to litigate in order to prevent the organization of its facilities makes it unlikely that Teamsters will be at the bargaining table anytime soon.
U.S. labor board delays new unionization rule after business groups sue
November 20, 2023 // The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups — including the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the International Franchise Association and the National Retail Federation — sued the NLRB in federal court in Texas last week to block the rule. They say the rule upends years of precedent and could make companies liable for workers they don’t employ at workplaces they don’t own. But the NLRB says the current rule makes it too easy for companies to avoid their legal responsibility to bargain with workers.
Court orders Bay Area Subway franchisees to sell stores, pay employees
October 2, 2023 // A federal court ordered the owners of 14 Subway Bay Area locations to pay employees nearly $1 million in damages and back pay and also to sell or shut their businesses, with any sale proceeds going to the Department of Labor. Federal investigators said franchise owners John and Jessica Meza, of Brentwood, directed children as young as 14 to operate dangerous machinery, assigned minors work hours that violated federal law, and failed to pay their employees regularly, including by issuing hundreds of bad checks and illegally keeping tips left by customers. The Labor Department also charged that the Mezas coerced employees in an attempt to prevent them from cooperating with its investigation and that an associate, Hamza Ayesh, played a role in those efforts, including threatening an employee who complained about receiving a bad check. The stores are located in Antioch, Clayton, Concord, San Pablo, Petaluma, Cotati, Napa, Santa Rosa, Windsor and Vallejo.
New Jersey Transit workers unanimously vote to authorize strike
September 1, 2023 // NJ Transit crew members have been working without a new contract for nearly four years. The contract dispute has been in national mediation for three years. NJ Transit says it is still committed to continuing to negotiate in good faith with the union. The agency also says a federal court injunction obtained last summer prohibits a strike.
No deal: Federal Workers Union asks U.S. court to intervene
May 23, 2023 // "This litigation is both an effort to protect our members from illegal furloughs and to correct an unconstitutional statute that frequently creates uncertainty and anxiety for millions of Americans," NAGE national president David Holway said earlier this month. "The debt ceiling has become a political football for certain members of Congress. If Congress will not raise the debt limit as it has nearly 80 times before without condition, it leaves no constitutional choice for the president." "Congress' failure of will to act is not justification to violate the Constitution," added Holway, just days after his union endorsed Biden for reelection. "But it is the reason this case had to be filed to protect the American public, federal employees, and our Constitution."
MADIGAN’S ARRAIGNMENT OVER AT&T BRIBERY CHARGES SET FOR NOV. 1
October 28, 2022 // Since acknowledging the scheme to curry favor with Madigan by trading legal contracts to his law firm, offering little- or no-work jobs for political pals, reserving internships for preferred candidates and advancing a Madigan ally to the company’s board of directors, ComEd also agreed to pay $200 million in restitution. Illinois labor unions contributed $10 million over 26 years to campaign funds under Madigan’s control. He responded by building up union power and a generous public pension system that Illinois taxpayers cannot afford.
AFSCME LOCAL THROWS IN THE TOWEL 3 HOURS AFTER BEING SERVED WITH PAPERS TO STOP UNCONSTITUTIONAL DEDUCTIONS
May 23, 2022 // Craine’s lawsuit argues that his union card from 1999 controls his ability to end both his membership and the deductions, and any money taken after submission of his opt-out notice and spent by the union on political speech without contract or consent was a violation of the First Amendment.